Defense procurement is being rewritten — software-defined warfare, autonomous platforms, hypersonics, space dominance. R2A tracks 27 names across the primes, the new wave, and the private companies building the next decade of capability.
The post-Cold-War defense industry was a five-prime oligopoly building expensive platforms with long development cycles. Ukraine broke that model in public. Cheap drones killed expensive tanks. Software upgrades mattered more than airframes. The Pentagon now has a Replicator initiative aiming to field tens of thousands of attritable autonomous systems — categories that didn't exist in the budget five years ago.
R2A's variant view: the new defense industrial base is bifurcated. The primes (LMT, RTX, NOC, GD) are late-cycle compounders with predictable cash flows — useful, not exciting. The new wave (Anduril, Shield AI, Saronic, Helsing — all private) is where the structural growth is happening. The public-market handles to get exposure are Palantir (defense AI software), Kratos (defense autonomy primes the original moonshot), AeroVironment, Karman, and the second-derivative beneficiaries in Space and AI Infra. Lots of private names here are pre-IPO — when they come public the entry will be hard.
Every name R2A tracks in Defense. Click any column header to sort.
| Ticker | Company | Call | Conviction | Last | R2A FV | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLTR | Palantir Technologies Defense AI + Software | Buy | ●●● High | $144.07 | $180.00 | — |
| ATRO | Astronics Aerospace + Test Systems | Buy | ●●● Medium | $71.21 | $87.00 | — |
| CACI | CACI International Defense IT | Buy | ●●● Medium | $513.57 | $640.00 | — |
| CDRE | Cadre Holdings Protective Gear + Tactical | Buy | ●●● Medium | $29.84 | $36.00 | — |
| ESLT | Elbit Systems Israeli Defense Electronics | Buy | ●●● Medium | $831.22 | $920.00 | — |
| GD | General Dynamics Defense Prime | Buy | ●●● Medium | $345.78 | $360.00 | — |
| KTOS | Kratos Defense Defense Autonomy | Buy | ●●● Medium | $58.78 | $95.00 | — |
| NOC | Northrop Grumman Defense Prime | Buy | ●●● Medium | $568.18 | $720.00 | $850 |
| RTX | RTX Corporation Aerospace & Defense | Buy | ●●● Medium | $172.69 | $235.00 | — |
| CW | Curtiss-Wright Naval Propulsion / Flight | Hold | ●●● Medium | $712.93 | $755.00 | — |
| HII | Huntington Ingalls Naval Shipbuilding | Hold | ●●● Medium | $360.44 | $320.00 | — |
| LDOS | Leidos Defense IT/Intel | Hold | ●●● Medium | $149.27 | $170.00 | — |
| LHX | L3Harris Technologies Defense Electronics | Hold | ●●● Medium | $313.30 | $310.00 | — |
| LMT | Lockheed Martin Defense Prime | Hold | ●●● Medium | $512.66 | $560.00 | $660 |
| ONDS | Ondas Defense Drones / Autonomous | Hold | ●●● Medium | $10.32 | $13.00 | — |
| RCAT | Red Cat Holdings Defense Small-sUAS | Hold | ●●● Medium | $11.23 | $14.00 | — |
| SARO | StandardAero Aero Engine MRO | Hold | ●●● Medium | $24.52 | $35.00 | — |
| TLS | Telos Defense Cyber + Identity | Hold | ●●● Medium | $4.42 | $6.40 | — |
| VVX | V2X Defense Services | Hold | ●●● Medium | $67.74 | $73.00 | — |
| Anduril | Anduril Industries Defense AI + Autonomy | Watch | ●●● High | ~$30B | — | — |
| Epirus | Epirus High-Power Microwave | Watch | ●●● High | — | — | — |
| Saronic | Saronic Technologies Autonomous Surface Vessels | Watch | ●●● High | — | — | — |
| Shield AI | Shield AI Defense AI / Autonomous Flight | Watch | ●●● High | ~$5B | — | — |
| Helsing | Helsing European Defense AI | Watch | ●●● Medium | — | — | — |
| Skydio | Skydio Autonomous Defense Drones | Watch | ●●● Medium | — | — | — |
| Castelion | Castelion Hypersonic Missiles | Watch | ●●● Low | — | — | — |
| Mach | Mach Industries Hypersonic + Unmanned | Watch | ●●● Low | — | — | — |